Arizona Diamondbacks' Jason Kubel feels healthy as power returns

MILWAUKEE - With his 12th home run on Sunday afternoon, Jason Kubel equaled his season total from last year in exactly 100 fewer plate appearances.

The biggest difference from this year to last year?

"I'm just healthy," Kubel said.

In his final year with the Minnesota Twins, Kubel spent all of June and much of July on the disabled list with a left-foot injury. He says he rushed back, never giving the injury time to heal, and his performance suffered.

"The average went down; I hit a couple of homers here and there, but that was about it," he said.

He also said he got into trouble trying to pull the ball in pitcher-friendly Target Field, developing bad habits at the plate instead of using the whole field the way he had earlier in his career.

His home run on Sunday -- a solo shot off reliever Francisco Rodriguez that tied the game at 1 in the eighth -- went to left-center field. It was the fifth of the season he's hit to the left of center; last year, only two of his home runs were to the opposite field, according to the ESPN Home Run Tracker.

"It screwed me up," he said of his old approach. "That first year in Target Field I hit .249, and that's because I was trying to pull everything. I hit 21 homers, but that's not enough to hit .249."

Manager Kirk Gibson seems to most appreciate Kubel's consistency. In April, Kubel hit .333 with a .928 OPS. Those numbers dropped to a still decent .269 and .784 in May, and climbed back to .289 and .911 in June.

Making adjustments

While recalling rookie Trevor Bauer's debut from last week, Gibson pointed out what happened to Washington's Stephen Strasburg on Saturday in Atlanta, when he left his start after three innings due to heat exhaustion.

Gibson was intimating that the heat in Atlanta was a factor in the groin cramp that bothered Bauer in the third inning. Bauer went on the field during batting practice and never went back inside, going through his prolonged pregame routine amid a humid, 97-degree afternoon.

Was he suggesting Bauer might want to make adjustments to his routine later this month when the team is in Chicago and Cincinnati, which can also get hot and humid?

"It just depends," Gibson said. "If it's really, really hot like that. The kid's very analytical, as you know. I think he'll figure it out, and he does seek opinion. It's not like he's in his own little world.

"A year from now, who knows? Things will be different a year from now with every player in here. They all make adjustments. You have to do it. You have to adjust to certain things in the environment that you're in, whether it's weather. You've got to get to know your body."

Short hops

Infielder John McDonald, who was scratched from Saturday night's game with back tightness, said he was feeling "OK" after Sunday's game. "It's not a lot better," he said. "But it's only been 16 hours or something. that was a night game last night and it's a day game today. They're trying to figure out exactly what it is." He said he plans to be at Chase Field early Monday to visit the trainers.

Gibson said left-hander Joe Saunders' throwing session from Saturday went well and he remains on target to return shortly after the All-Star break.

Notable: Kennedy will be making his 100th career appearance in the majors. He's been looking more like last year's Cy Young Award candidate recently, going 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his past two starts with no walks and 14 strikeouts. He allowed two earned runs over eight innings in his last start against the Rockies and in that game, became the first Diamondbacks pitcher to hit a bases-loaded triple. In his career, Kennedy is 20-6 with a 2.91 ERA after the All-Star break. ... Young got a no-decision in his last start, which was one of his better. In an 8-2 loss to the Nationals, he went seven innings, allowed two earned runs, a season-low three hits, and struck out a season-high seven batters. The last time he faced the Diamondbacks, he was with the Padres and got a 6-3 win in April 2010 at Chase Field, pitching six shutout innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts. In his career against the Diamondbacks, Young is 2-3 with a 3.91 ERA in 10 starts.